Kaleo
A/B

Tac, tac, tac Nana na.... nana na... nanananana nanananana nanana

And then that captivating riff kicks in and while I scream it at the top of my lungs, trying to expel all the crap accumulated, I reach the red light and see the couple next to me looking at me as if they've seen the Virgin Mary, and then he says something like “look at this guy”...

At the next light, I roll down the window and scream it into their car; my face must be (obviously) quite stunning for her as she starts to laugh, embarrassed but genuinely, and quite unkind for him who stares at the steering wheel praying for the green.

At least I hope they've both understood that he's a complete loser (at least she has!).

“No good” is one of those songs that stays in your head but you can't whistle or hum along because it needs to be screamed, gesticulated, lived intensely.

Catchy but not cliché, easy but not trivial. Heavy guitar riff, rhythm like “Black Dog” but that singing that sounds genuinely soul/blues with accompanying tribal/gospel choirs, a gem for me.

You know, I don't listen to any new stuff and if I do and even like it, in the end, I always go back to the past. My soul is there, no use denying it, in those years, with that sound, that experience, and that unique atmosphere (thanks to all of you is still a must and especially heartfelt because you've made me realize that there's a lot of good stuff after the eighties).

Last year, while reading something about the Rolling Stones tour, I paused at the opening bands (different on various dates), besides my beloved new/old Rival Sons (they haven't sold out for easy success, well done), there were three more bands.

I listened to a couple of tracks per band and liked these Icelanders straight away. I have no patience, no musical knowledge, I can't and don't want to sit there listening to transitions or analyzing melodies, I'm not interested and don't know the lyrics (except for rare cases); music just has to hit like a punch and knock me out on the first listen.

They sound old but not quite so, they are very varied even within the same track (a feature I've always appreciated).

You can see they were born rock'n'roll and the album is practically divided into two, between driven pieces and easy or ballad or melodic songs as you wish to call them. The singing always makes the difference; this guy shows he can sing anything but his tormented and cursed tone brings back memories of old damned souls.

And so besides “No Good”, more than a gem, it is “Broken Bones” starting from the beginning, which seems to come directly from the black cotton fields that once were, and continues with its magnificent progression that mixes blues, swing, and gospel. Stunning is the poignant “I Can't Go In Without You”; “Glass House” and “Hot Blood” are impetuous and captivating; wonderful ballads are “All The Pretty Girls”, “Automobile”, “Save Yourself”, and what would seem like a traditional Icelandic “Vor I Vaglaskogi”.

The only one that doesn't thrill me is “Way Down We Go”, which, by chance, is the single from the album and made them known and entered into many charts (as little as can be found about them suggests). Too polished, that clichéd niceness meant for the charts.

Soon we'll see if they want to maintain this sacred fire and genuine passion running in their veins at the cost of staying a bit away from millionaire success, but with a following that will be of true nobles, or if they won't be able to resist the lure of fame and filthy lucre with relative, alas, musical and not only choices. Especially the singer, formidable voice and much soul; but he's also handsome, and it's even harder for him to resist the temptations of offers that will have already arrived.

I'm counting on you dear Jokull Juliusson, may the blues always accompany you and us, don't betray.

In that article, they were defined as the Indian band from Iceland Kaleo. I don't know if they play Indian or alternative or post something, for me it's Rock; sometimes hard and/or blues, even folk, country, and southern with soul and gospel atmospheres always hovering in the air, especially in that splendid voice.

Rhythm section, guitars, vocals, piano, no electronic keyboards, in fact, nothing electronic, energy, passion, soul, class, stuff of true new/old rock'n'roll mold, as our noble Sfascia would say.

Give it a listen, it really deserves it if you like these sounds (turn it up loud and scream in the face of the first useless person you meet, obviously!)

Noble regards